Over 3,200 Springfield area families register for Toy for Joy fund

Linda-Jo PerksSPRINGFIELD – Over 3,200 families registered here this week for the Toy for Joy holiday campaign.
Registrations at the Salvation Army’s Greater Springfield Citadel formally ended at 3 p.m. on Friday, although Salvation Army personnel were poised to take a registration from a woman later in the afternoon who said she could make it to the Pearl Street citadel until after work.
The woman told a Salvation Army official that if it weren’t for Toy for Joy her children would have no toys at all on Christmas morning, said Maj. Linda-Jo Perks, co-commander of the Greater Springfield citadel.
“We are going to be taking her application after 3 p.m. because we don’t want that to happen,” Perks said.
Toy for Joy, jointly sponsored by The Republican and the Salvation Army, had received some $12,871 in contributions by the close of business on Friday. The goal is to raise $150,000 by noon on Christmas eve to cover the costs of this year’s program.
Perks said the number of participating families as of late Friday morning was just shy of the more than 5,000 families who registered last year. She said, however, she expects the number to climb during next week’s make-up registration day. “People don’t need to panic,” she said.
The Greater Springfield citadel will conduct registration on Wednesday from 10 a.m. to noon for those families still seeking to obtain holiday presents for their children.
Salvation Army units in Westfield, Holyoke and Greenfield reported higher than normal registrations.
For more information on Toy for Joy, call the Salvation Army at (413) 733-1518.
To make a contribution, write to Toy for Joy, P.O. Box 3007, Springfield, MA 01102. Contributions may also be dropped off with the coupon at The Republican, 1860 Main St., Springfield, weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Contributions will be taken in person at the newspaper until noon on Christmas eve.
View full size Here’s a list of the latest contributors:
Happy times, Grace and Brian, $20.00
In memory of my Mom, Dad and brother Rene, love Claire, $100.00
In memory of James Kennedy and Annmarie Bredenbeck Kennedy from their family, $50.00
For Chuck, $25.00
Happy Holidays from Michael and Cindy Smalley, $100.00
A merry Christmas to all from Alistair, $25.00
In memory of our beloved granddaughter Morgan Kyleigh Rooney, love Babci and Dziadzu, $25.00
For those less fortunate than us from Jameson and Justin, $20.00
Memory of Leonard Hersh, $10.00
From my 6 grandchildren, $25.00
In loving memory of Noel and Joseph Fortier and Lisa Meade, always in our hearts, $10.00
In loving memory of Gramps, Mom and my husband from HK, $50.00
In loving memory of John Lenilko, $20.00
In memory of Tom Lyons, $50.00
In memory of my father and mother, John and Norma from Bill, $25.00
In loving memory of Bill and Izzy Gilmore from Patty, $15.00
In memory of Don Kimel and Loli Orszak, $25.00
Anonymous, $100.00
In loving memory of Sotirios Vakakas, $25.00
In loving memory of Grace and Henry Partridge from Mary, $22.00
In loving memory of Jill Stefanik from Jillian and Cameron Russell, $25.00
In loving memory of Eugene Arsenault from his wife and children, $50.00
Anonymous, $100.00
In loving memory of our “Nono” Albert Serra, $20.00
RECEIVED, $1,662.00
TOTAL TO DATE, $12,871.00
STILL NEEDED, $137,129.00